[A/S] Re: lining a '79 bath shower (& galley light and wood finish)

[Chris Koehn <timberguides@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Christopher-

Thanks for the vote. You hit the nail on the head:  too much work if 
you're not going to full-time in it.
Re: the back wall- you are correct- I did not firr it out. Doing the 
wall common to the galley and the one common to the bath got me over 
the aluminum extrusions on the back wall. The only prep work I did on 
the back wall was the wedge over the duct. This was the last piece of 
vinyl I installed- with the inside corners pre-installed on the vinyl.

Re: light in the galley- I'm with you. It's lacking in the original 
design. I took out the center light/vent. The controls had been damaged 
by rain at some point. I installed a Fantastic Vent in it's place. 
Daisy's website has super photos of this process.
  My wife Ruth found two halogen lights that were meant for table-top 
use in displays and trade shows. They are made by Juno or Light-o-Lier; 
can't recall. They came with an A/C transformer. I installed one 
between the center vent and the A/C, and one adjacent to the antenna 
crank in the forward cabin. I cut the transformers out and wired them 
in to the power supply for the vents. I switch them with a mini paddle 
switch from radio shack. They work very well, providing nice full 
spectrum light. They use more juice than LED's and probably 
flourescents, but not enough more for us to sacrifice the full spectrum 
light, and way less juice than the original 6 light incandescents. They 
are directional, looking and pivoting like a mini spot light, measuring 
~ 2" wide and 3 1/2" tall.
Ruth also found a 1" X 18" 2-lamp halogen fixture at West Marine. We 
mounted this above the spice cabinet and behind the vent fan. Tied the 
juice in to the existing fixture above the sink. It's directional, and 
really helps with light on the cook surface.
I can send photos back channel if you wish.

Hunter: the finish I used on the baltic birch is called Arm-r-Seal. 
It's made by General Finishes- a small mfr. in Milwaukee and as far as 
I know they don't distribute it nationally and they won't ship it. It's 
an oil modified urethane, and I bet there are other finishes in this 
class available. A contractor pal of mine swears by Glitza. I've used 
Arm-r-Seal on floors with super results. It flows well, dries quickly 
(3 coats a day), and dries very hard and water resistant. 5 coats are 
preferred for damp applications. Used it on a kitchen counter I built 
in our last house made from salvaged bowling alley. Used it daily for 5 
years before selling.
If I were to do a baltic birch counter again I would spend more time 
sealing the sink cut out before installing the sink. We've had a bit of 
damage from water getting in under the self-rimming sink.

Cheers from Dead Horse Ranch State Park, AZ

Chris Koehn